THE Constitutional Court of Guatemala on Thursday granted an injunction to reverse the suspension of the Seed Movement party which should now allow Bernardo Arevalo to stand in the presidential election second round on August 20.

This came after the country’s attorney general had tried to revoke the legal status of the party on Thursday.

The court “granted the provisional injunction requested so that the second round of elections can be held on the indicated date and with the participation of the ruling candidates.”

Four of the five magistrates of the highest court of the country accepted the request of lawyers acting on behalf of the Seed Movement party to annul the order to cancel its legal status, which they believed went against the country’s Electoral and Political Parties Law.

The run-off now looks set to take place between Sandra Torres, of the right-wing National Unity of Hope, and Mr Arevalo following weeks of political turmoil in Guatemala.

The government’s actions against Mr Arevalo by first suspending Seed Movement, then raiding the country’s election tribunal offices after it certified election results, sparked fury in the country.

The move managed to unite parties on the left and right who warned the government to honour the election result.

Mr Arevalo won a surprise 11.7 per cent of the votes with Ms Torres gaining 15.8 per cent but no candidate got near to passing the 50 per cent mark to avoid a run-off. 

As the wait dragged on for certification of the election, anxiety grew that the government was looking for a way to change the results. 

First, a number of parties waged a legal challenge which led Guatemala’s highest court to suspend the certification and order a review of hundreds of challenged polling place tallies. 

The review concluded with no change in the results.